This archive report was first published on 12 July 2020.
Published on July 12, 2020, Kenya has won a significant case against Canadian-American energy firm WalAm Energy Inc, relating to geothermal fields in Suswa.
Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki announced the win, stating that the country will be paid over Sh538 million.
The case, which was filed by WalAm Energy Inc in 2015 at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), was dismissed on Friday with a favourable verdict for Kenya.
According to the AG, the Ministry of Energy and the Geothermal Development Company are now at liberty to exploit the geothermal resources in the Suswa geothermal fields and grow the energy capacity of Kenya.
The dispute was about licensing, with WalAm Energy Inc being awarded a Geothermal Resources Licence in 2007 by the then Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi.
However, the government revoked the licence in 2012 after discovering that WalAm had not performed its duties under the license and did not have capacity to undertake the required exploration.
WalAm Energy Inc filed a case at ICSID, which was heard in London in 2018, seeking to compel Kenya to pay $339.6 million (Sh36.4 billion) and to reinstate its licence.
However, Kenya won the case, with the tribunal dismissing the case and ordering WalAm to bear the costs that Kenya spent in responding to the accusations.
WalAm Energy Inc was ordered to pay the Government of Kenya $648,857.75 (Sh70,067,637 million) corresponding to its share of the costs in the arbitration, as well as reimburse 75 per cent of the Government of Kenya's legal fees and expenses.
